Kacar strikes for Hertha to draw in Hamburg

Hertha Berlin’s Serbian star Gojko Kacar hit a second-half equaliser at Hamburg on Sunday as the Bundesliga title contenders shared the points while leaders Wolfsburg end the weekend three points clear.

With Wolfsburg hammering Hoffenheim 4-0 on Saturday and Bayern Munich going second by beating Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1, the draw leaves Hertha third, four points behind the leaders, while Hamburg are fifth with four games left.

Hosts Hamburg took the lead when German defender Marcell Jansen, who missed his side’s UEFA Cup semi-final first-leg win over Werder Bremen in midweek with a rib injury, hit the back of the net after only eight minutes.

But Hertha drew level when Serbian midfielder Kacar slammed home his shot on 66 minutes after a pass from compatriot Marko Pantelic.

Both goals were scored against the run of play in a match which often see-sawed.

And Cologne picked up their first win in five games as Slovenian striker Milivoje Novakovic hit the second-half winner against fellow mid-table side Werder Bremen.

On Saturday, Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko hit a second-half hat-trick to seal the 4-0 win at home to Hoffenheim.

Despite starting the year at the top of the Bundesliga, Hoffenheim have faded badly to drop to ninth in the league and have now gone 12 games without a win in the league.

Dzeko needed just 13 minutes to wrap up his hat-trick before strike partner Grafite slotted home an 89th minute penalty, after Hoffenheim’s Andreas Beck was sent off, to remain the league’s top-scorer with 23 goals in 21 games.

After Jurgen Klinsmann was sacked as head coach by Bayern last Monday, caretaker coach Jupp Heynckes began his five games in charge, while a successor is found, with a 2-1 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Having forced their way into title contention with five consecutive wins, Stuttgart faltered with a 2-2 draw at Arminia Bielefeld which leaves them five points behind Wolfsburg as they finish the weekend fourth.

Borussia Dortmund enjoyed a 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt and are just outside the European places for next season on sixth and are eight points behind Wolfsburg.

Schalke 04 are also within touching distance of a European place for next season despite losing 2-1 at home to Bayer Leverkusen.

At the bottom of the table, Karlsruhe picked up a valuable point in their quest to stay up with a 0-0 draw with fellow relegation candidates Energie Cottbus, but are still four points from safety.

Hanover’s 2-0 win at Bochum on Friday night means they are nine points off the relegation zone and have virtually guaranteed their place in the Bundesliga next season and in Sunday’s other game Werder Bremen are at Cologne.